Economic realities will guide labour’s new minimum wage negotiation —ASCSN national president

Comrade Tommy Etim Okon is the National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN). He is also the Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC). In this interview with CHRISTIAN APPOLOS, he speaks on factors that will guide the organised labour in the ongoing new minimum wage negotiation, the constant free-fall of the naira and remedy for the high rate of unemployment in the country.

What does the incessant free-fall of the naira portend to the inflation viz-a-vis the purchasing power of Nigerian workers and citizens at large?

The free fall of the naira portends a great danger to the Nigerian economy if you look at what happened to Zimbabwe, where everybody in that country became a billionaire because of the free fall of the Zimbabwean dollar. So, it is a major concern and we in the organised labour see it as a situation that, if not checked, is going to cause damage to the fabric of the Nigerian economy and what is left of the country.

The free fall of the naira has other horrendous implications. The purchasing power of the average Nigerian has reduced to nothing. The situation is biting hard on Nigerian workers and the citizens at large. More worrisome is that it will skyrocket the ‘japa’ syndrome that is already hurting our economy and country tremendously. At this moment, it is a situation that has gone from a red flag situation to catastrophic. And our government must not use the usual rhetoric method.

It is on this premise that we in the organised labour call on the policymakers to think outside the box by taking result-oriented actions that take cognisance of Nigeria’s domestic economy in terms of production and consumption. At this point, strategic policies must be rolled out to combat the trend. For instance, if we continue to open the windows of our borders for all sorts of importation, the danger is that our currency will continue to suffer.

Also, a country that cannot control the value of its currency against the major currencies in the forex market will continue to suffer what is called somersaulting policy direction. And Nigeria’s situation is very close to that. Therefore, there is need for the Central Bank to go back and look at those items that are produced in the country and then stop their importation. The demand for dollar should be limited to importation and essential services.

Again, we need to also look at those who decided to send their children abroad who are demanding for dollar and other currencies. There is also need to check this. This also leads to the need for us to look at our educational system and see how we can improve it. Improving our education standards will reduce the demand for foreign training, viz-a-vis many other activities that has to do with the dollar.

So, the Central Bank must urgently look at domestic production and consumption and then stop forthwith the importation of some goods and place ban on importation of those items that are produced here and that can be consumed here. That will help reduce the quest for foreign currencies.

Those who are also trading with the dollar should also be checked. Because going by what is happening today, a lot of people prefer to buy dollars and keep. I think there is need for such sharp practices to be checked. Doing that will, at least, if not totally, reduce the high demand for dollar.

Let me say this with emphasis that there is also the need for Nigerian government to invest much on production and pay less attention to consumption. It is sad that having learned from SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme), we have not still understood that the World Bank and IMF are not wishing developing countries and their economies well judging by their economic policies.

Economic policies are meant to be sensitive. Any economic policy that is not sensitive is not realistic and will not be productive; that means it will end up working contrarily to the progress of the citizenry. When I mean sensitive, I mean that every economic policy should take cognisance of the operating environment.

Nigeria’s economy is different from any other economy. Our culture and practices are different. So, any policy that does not take cognisance of the culture of the people, the way of life of the people, the practices of the people and even the time use pattern of the people is bound to fail. That is why we always say that we should be cautious of accepting every policy direction from the IMF and World Bank. It is inimical to the survival of the Nigerian economy.

 

Bearing in mind the incessant fall of the value of naira, what should workers expect as the minimum take-home from the recently inaugurated new minimum wage committee?

Economic realities in the country will definitely guide our stand. Yes, the minimum wage committee has been inaugurated. We from the organised labour are not leaving any stone unturned. We are going to look at the inflation rate, vis-a-vis the exchange rate of the dollar and compare with what is happening to arrive at a very convincing national minimum wage that will be acceptable by all.

Even the proposed N200,000 ab initio has been eroded by the inflationary rate and the high cost of food items. Again, if the government meant well for Nigerian workers and the citizens as a whole, they should be able to look at the living wage. The minimum wage should be based on the current cost of living – taking cognisance of accommodation, taking cognisance of educational system, taking cognisance of transportation, taking cognisance of the health situation and high cost of even energy and gas as we go into the transition from fuel to energy. The organised labour, comprising the TUC and NLC, is fully prepared to protect the interest of Nigerian workers. Our position will be one.

Also, we in the organised labour have continued to say that government should cut cost of governance. Let it be known that government needs to drastically cut down on the cost of governance, whether in the state or federal. It is important at this point in time. We should reduce consumption and emphasise on production. The Central Bank should go back and revisit its importation policy and then stop forthwith. Our borders should not be open for every Tom, Dick and Harry for any kind of goods and services, otherwise, our naira will continue to fall downwards.

 

A recent ILO unemployment outlook for 2024 says that unemployment situation will worsen. In Nigeria, government is battling the free-fall of the naira, fuel subsidy issue, insecurity, etc, and amidst these, the number of people without jobs in the country is increasing. What should President Bola Tinubu do about job creation?

The ILO outlook on 2024 unemployment situation across the world like others in the past is a kind of early warning forecast and a wake-up call for countries. If you study the report, you will see that Nigeria is among the worse countries. Countries that are very serious study such forecast and take initiative to prevent the worst situation.

I feel that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration should focus more on ensuring that the manufacturing industries are empowered so that sectors like the textile industry can come back to stream. The famous car assembly plants in Nigeria should be reactivated to come back on stream. Then instead of taking our solid minerals outside the country and bringing back part of them in whatever form should be reversed. The industries that refine these solid minerals should be in Nigeria, providing employment opportunities for our unemployed citizens and creating wealth for our country.

Again, there is need to effectively utilise the structures of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). Honestly speaking, among the policies of the military administrations that have survived several regimes is the National Directorate of Employment. This is an agency that came into force in 1987 by the Babangida-led administration and it was a well-thought-out policy.

But I have observed that successive governments have not been able to utilise the structure of NDE for the purpose it was established for. This is an agency that has structure all over the states of the federation, including the local government areas. So, I see no reason the NDE cannot be elevated as a star job creation agency of the government and empowered to look into the issue of unemployment on a serious note.

Government should, in fact, declare a state of emergency on unemployment using the NDE. The issue of skills gap can actually be addressed through NDE’s different skills and vocational trainings. The NDE has all it takes to tackle such issues. The agency has all it takes to build the skills of Nigerians, both workers and the unemployed. Doing so will eventually make even our young school leavers to be employable and also employers of labour.

In any case, there are issue gaps. The government can reframe the schemes and programmes of the agency to match the 21st Century demands and needs. Doing that will be fantastic and I guarantee that it will drastically help to reduce unemployment in Nigeria.

In other words, I am saying apart from serious attention and investment in production of goods and services as a way forward to tackle unemployment in Nigeria, the National Directorate of Employment can be utilized on a full scale to structurally and strategically fight the unemployment menace. I charge this government to give it a trial.

If the government is really serious about righting the menace of unemployment through skills and vocational trainings, believe you me, Nigeria will take over from China as the production hub of the world. It is time for the Nigerian government to wake up. It is time for politicians and political office holders to work for the interest and growth of our country.

Government must spearhead an intentional and targeted effort to create an environment where job opportunities will thrive. Government must constructively and structurally start a new Nigeria where tech, productive and all kinds of skills will promote job creation and economic growth. It can be done. It can be achieved.

Government must fight insecurity, criminality and other vices in the country by intentionally creating environment that offers our youth opportunity to live a decent and crime-free life. If China and India can do it, who says it is impossible for Nigeria to even do it better? The brains our youths use to device criminal engagements can be used to better the economic and light condition in Nigeria.